EricRoscoe
06-10-2010, 08:13 PM
OMAHA, Neb. --
A Papillion man may be the first known person in the U.S. to have been killed by his pet boa constrictor, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
The 9-foot long, 25-pound snake wrapped itself around Cory Byrne's neck Wednesday evening as he showed it to friends. Byrne soon lost consciousness. Rescuers arrived to find him with no pulse. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"When they strike, they're just going to coil around real fast," said Nebraska Humane Society's Sarah Reiderer.
She studies reptiles, and said the snakes will constrict until their prey is dead.
"It waits until it can't feel the heart beat anymore and then and that's when it will relax a little bit," Reiderer said.
Boa constrictors are legal in Nebraska. Omaha doesn’t allow any longer than 8 feet. Papillion hasn't set any rules.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working to keep potentially dangerous animals, like boa constrictors, contained.
"There's been both regulation and legislation proposed that would prohibit importing boa constrictors and prohibit the movement of these as pets across state lines," said a Fish and Wildlife spokesperson.
"Changing an ordinance would be for the elected city officials to decide, but this tragic incident would give us cause to revisit that ordinance," said Lt. Chris Whitted.
http://www.ketv.com/news/23861710/detail.html
A Papillion man may be the first known person in the U.S. to have been killed by his pet boa constrictor, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
The 9-foot long, 25-pound snake wrapped itself around Cory Byrne's neck Wednesday evening as he showed it to friends. Byrne soon lost consciousness. Rescuers arrived to find him with no pulse. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"When they strike, they're just going to coil around real fast," said Nebraska Humane Society's Sarah Reiderer.
She studies reptiles, and said the snakes will constrict until their prey is dead.
"It waits until it can't feel the heart beat anymore and then and that's when it will relax a little bit," Reiderer said.
Boa constrictors are legal in Nebraska. Omaha doesn’t allow any longer than 8 feet. Papillion hasn't set any rules.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working to keep potentially dangerous animals, like boa constrictors, contained.
"There's been both regulation and legislation proposed that would prohibit importing boa constrictors and prohibit the movement of these as pets across state lines," said a Fish and Wildlife spokesperson.
"Changing an ordinance would be for the elected city officials to decide, but this tragic incident would give us cause to revisit that ordinance," said Lt. Chris Whitted.
http://www.ketv.com/news/23861710/detail.html